Tuesday, April 24, 2012

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Issues New Policy for Transgender Immigrants

Last Friday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a Policy
Memorandum to update the Adjudicator’s
Field Manual’s guidelines on transgender immigrants’ documentation and
marriage recognition. The new policies are binding for all agency staff
overseeing U.S. immigration procedures.

The first policy pertains to the multitude of documents that
USCIS issues regularly, including Employment Authorization Documents, Refugee
Travel Documents, Permanent Resident Cards, and Naturalization Certificates. As
per Friday’s change, applicants who seek to change their gender on any USCIS
identification documents may do so without proof of sex reassignment surgery.

"It brings USCIS in line with DOS [the Department of
State] in its guidance for updating gender markers on identity documents -- no
longer requiring any specific surgery, but instead allowing a doctor to certify
the individual's gender,” says Victoria Neilson, Legal Director for Immigration Equality. She adds,
“This Guidance is an important step forward for transgender immigrants and
their families.”

The second policy addresses marriage between a transgender
individual and an individual of the other gender. Under the new USCIS
memorandum, a couple’s marriage is valid if:

·A transgender individual legally changed genders
and subsequently got married to a person of the opposite gender.

·The marriage was recognized as a legal
heterosexual marriage where the marriage took place.

·The law where the marriage took place does not
bar marriage between a transgender individual and a person of the opposite
gender.

The policy does not require a transgender individual to
present proof of surgery unless the place of marriage required it explicitly.
Because of this change, transgender immigrants will be able to file a “Petition
for Alien Fiancé(e)” or allow American citizens to petition for a green-card
for their transgender spouses.

"Today's announcement is another example of the Obama
Administration's long-term commitment to equality," NCTE Policy Counsel Harper Jean Tobin said
Friday. "These revisions mean that trans people and their families can
obtain accurate identification while maintaining their privacy. It'll also
reduce bureaucratic delays, intrusive questions, and wrongful denials of
immigration benefits."

2 comments:

Ever since I applied for a visa philippines in order to migrate to the states, I've been searching for a lot of info on the web. This is an interesting post and I hope everything turns out well. Thanks!